Advancing Remote Vestibular Technology to Improve the Health of Service Members
Abstract
Approved for Public ReleaseNaval service members experience a range of atypical exposures to the vestibular system. Someof these exposures are known to cause injury (e.g., blast-related overpressure), while others aremore poorly understood but have been linked todiminished vestibular performance (e.g., high Gforce exposures in dynamic aviation). Of particular relevance to the Naval aviator and flightcrew, vestibular performance influences head-eye coordination, spatial orientation, andresistance to motion sickness, amongother key functions. Unfortunately, the ability to readilyassess vestibular function in the field and to monitor exposures of the system have contributed toa limited ability to optimize performance for Naval aviators and flight crew. Thus, the ability todetect, monitor, and intervene on vestibular deficits using field-based technologies andapproaches has the potential to greatly improve training and readiness in Naval aviators.Therefore, this proposal was developed to enhance the Navy#s vestibular training capabilities, by1) advancing technology for precise field-based assessments of vestibular exposures as well aswarfighter/aviator vestibular performance, 2) better understanding vestibular exposures incurredduring routine or simulated training environments and the impact on performance, and 3)developing vestibular training programs aimed at mitigating motion sickness, with an eyetowards future training programs to optimize performance of elite Naval aviators.The overall objective of this work is to advance vestibular performance assessment capabilities,to optimize training and readiness of Navy aviators and air crew. Given the importance ofvestibular performance to aviators, we are particularly interested in developing meaningfulassessment tools for the aviation community. These tools will be field-based, designed forroutine assessments in garrison, and/or remote-capable, where they can be self-administered byservice members down-range. We will develop and validate novel assessments of head-eyecoordination as proxy measures of vestibular performance. Specifically, we will establish testretestreliability, construct validity, measurement error, and responsiveness of several DVAassessments of varying difficulty. We will also examine the responsiveness of these measures toboth simulated and actual aviation exposures. Finally, we will develop and test vestibulartraining protocols that leverage field-based assessments of DVA to optimize vestibularperformance in Service Members and military-aged civilians prone to motion sickness.To achieve the goals of this study we will accomplish 4 primary aims: 1) establish test-retestreliability and error of novel vestibular assessments, 2) examine the association betweenfieldbasedvestibular assessments, gold standard vestibular assessments, and aviation exposures, 3)determine the feasibility of remote monitoring of vestibular performance in aviationcommunities and determine the impact of training exposures on performance, and 4)preliminaryexamine the use of a remote vestibular training program on motion sickness susceptibility.Following completion of this work we anticipate making advancements in the development anduse of field-based vestibular assessments critical to the Navy. We will also expand ourunderstanding of the impact of vestibular exposure on vestibular performance and preliminarilyexplore the use of remote vestibular training at mitigating symptoms of motion sickness. Weexpect that this work will contribute to improved DoD capabilities in training Naval aviators.Future examinations will work to continue and refine these technologies and explore the efficacyof their use in larger trials and through large scale implementation in Naval trainingenvironments, with the goal of optimizing aviator training in the Navy and across the DoD.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 14, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142512015
Entities
People
- Andrew Kittelson
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Montana